Unable to reach router to get IP address via DHCP

Hi, all.

This is one of those "I'm trying to set this up on a friend's
computer" posts. I'm

- not presently at her computer
- won't be at her computer for at least another 24 hours
- have to reconstruct her problem from memory

Please bear with me.

Ultimate goal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My friend--let's call her Annie--has Windows 98 installed on one
desktop computer. She's recently installed Kubuntu on another
desktop computer. She wants to use the Kubuntu machine all the
time, but still needs the Windows box on a regular basis. She want
to

- connect the Kubuntu box to one LAN port of a D-Link DI-704P router
- connect the 98 box to another LAN port of the same router
- use vnc from the Kubuntu box in order to use her 98 box

Peculiarities
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Annie doesn't have ADSL access
- she connects to the web strictly using ppp
- the WAN port on the D-Link router is therefore empty

Steps we've taken to set this up
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Manually reset the router to its defaults.
- appears to have worked

2. Plugged the Kubuntu box and the 98 box into two of the router's
LAN ports.
- both connections are solid

3. Fired up the 98 box.
- no problem

4. Used wifcfg (or whatever that 98 DOS command is--I've never
used Windows before) to show network
status.
- output shows that the network card in the 98 box (an
NE<something>) is up:
o IPv4 address 192.168.0.126
o Bcast: 192.168.0.255
o Mask: 255.255.255.0
o Gateway: 192.168.0.1

6. Contacted the router by going to 192.168.0.1 in IE.
- contact was successful; the router page opened

6. Fired up the Kubuntu box.
- /etc/init.d/networking chokes on DHCPREQUEST and brings ups
eth0 without an address, consequently there's no way to
contact the router or the 98 box

Summary of problem
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Annie's Kubuntu box isn't able to contact the D-Link router and
subsequently obtain an IP address via DHCP.

Troubleshooting the Kubuntu box
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Is dhcp-client installed?
- yes

2. Does /etc/network/interfaces file contain these lines?

# The loopback network interface
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

# The primary network interface
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

- yes

3. Does /etc/resolv.conf contain Annie's nameservers (not sure this
is important in this instance).
- yes

4. How is /etc/hosts is set up?

127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost ubuntu

- looks fine to me

5. Is the ethernet card properly installed and functioning?
- brought up the card manually with the address, 192.168.0.3
- pinged 192.168.0.3
- ping was successful, ergo card is fine (?)

Annie tells me the network card is new (bought last week) and that,
to the best of her knowledge, she's not running a firewall. I
forgot to check that; does anyone know if Kubuntu sets up some sort
of minimal firewall by default?

Anyway, that's the summary of where we are. A Windows 98 box can
connect to the D-Link router, and a Kubuntu box can't. On the
basis of the information I've provided, can anyone suggest reasons
why the Kubuntu box is unable to reach the router? Have I stupidly
overlooked something?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

--
Peter Schaffter

On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:10:39 -0400
Peter Schaffter <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> Hi, all.
>
> This is one of those "I'm trying to set this up on a friend's
> computer" posts. I'm
>
> - not presently at her computer
> - won't be at her computer for at least another 24 hours
> - have to reconstruct her problem from memory
>
> Please bear with me.
>
> Ultimate goal
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> My friend--let's call her Annie--has Windows 98 installed on one
> desktop computer. She's recently installed Kubuntu on another
> desktop computer. She wants to use the Kubuntu machine all the
> time, but still needs the Windows box on a regular basis. She want
> to
>
> - connect the Kubuntu box to one LAN port of a D-Link DI-704P router
> - connect the 98 box to another LAN port of the same router
> - use vnc from the Kubuntu box in order to use her 98 box
>
> Peculiarities
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> - Annie doesn't have ADSL access
> - she connects to the web strictly using ppp
> - the WAN port on the D-Link router is therefore empty
>
> Steps we've taken to set this up
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 1. Manually reset the router to its defaults.
> - appears to have worked
>
> 2. Plugged the Kubuntu box and the 98 box into two of the router's
> LAN ports.
> - both connections are solid
>
> 3. Fired up the 98 box.
> - no problem
>
> 4. Used wifcfg (or whatever that 98 DOS command is--I've never
> used Windows before) to show network
> status.
> - output shows that the network card in the 98 box (an
> NE<something>) is up:
> o IPv4 address 192.168.0.126
> o Bcast: 192.168.0.255
> o Mask: 255.255.255.0
> o Gateway: 192.168.0.1
>
> 6. Contacted the router by going to 192.168.0.1 in IE.
> - contact was successful; the router page opened
>
> 6. Fired up the Kubuntu box.
> - /etc/init.d/networking chokes on DHCPREQUEST and brings ups
> eth0 without an address, consequently there's no way to
> contact the router or the 98 box

Do you have two network interfaces on this box, and if so, is the cable
in the correct ethernet socket?

> Summary of problem
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Annie's Kubuntu box isn't able to contact the D-Link router and
> subsequently obtain an IP address via DHCP.
>
> Troubleshooting the Kubuntu box
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 1. Is dhcp-client installed?
> - yes
>
> 2. Does /etc/network/interfaces file contain these lines?
>
> # The loopback network interface
> auto lo
> iface lo inet loopback
>
> # The primary network interface
> auto eth0
> iface eth0 inet dhcp
>
> - yes
>
> 3. Does /etc/resolv.conf contain Annie's nameservers (not sure this
> is important in this instance).
> - yes
>
> 4. How is /etc/hosts is set up?
>
> 127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost ubuntu
>
> - looks fine to me

This only relates to name resolution.

> 5. Is the ethernet card properly installed and functioning?
> - brought up the card manually with the address, 192.168.0.3
> - pinged 192.168.0.3
> - ping was successful, ergo card is fine (?)

That rules out my previous suggestion then.

> Annie tells me the network card is new (bought last week) and that,
> to the best of her knowledge, she's not running a firewall. I
> forgot to check that; does anyone know if Kubuntu sets up some sort
> of minimal firewall by default?

No idea. If it does, then it's weird that the default firewall would
prevent outgoing dhcp requests.

> Anyway, that's the summary of where we are. A Windows 98 box can
> connect to the D-Link router, and a Kubuntu box can't. On the
> basis of the information I've provided, can anyone suggest reasons
> why the Kubuntu box is unable to reach the router? Have I stupidly
> overlooked something?

I don't think you overlooked anything, but it might be worth issuing:

dhclient eth0

from the command line and see where that gets you. It might be that the
card has to 'settle' post boot before it talks to the network. This
might be the inverse of what you were saying about the firewall,
sometimes (in firewall theory) the firewall blocks everything until the
system has booted and networks are up, then it applies interface rules.
Bit of a weird one, but in theory, you don't want an interface blinding
accepting packets at boot time - for that might stop one from bouncing,
bouncing is important.

--
Regards, Ed :: http://www.ednevitable.co.uk
just another linux person
Chuck Norris's roundhouse kicks are powered by love. Everytime he
connects with a roundhouse there is slightly less love in the
universe.

ed wrote:

> On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:10:39 -0400
> Peter Schaffter <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> Hi, all.
>>
>> This is one of those "I'm trying to set this up on a friend's
>> computer" posts. I'm
>>
>> - not presently at her computer
>> - won't be at her computer for at least another 24 hours
>> - have to reconstruct her problem from memory
>>
>> Please bear with me.
>>
>> Ultimate goal
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> My friend--let's call her Annie--has Windows 98 installed on one
>> desktop computer. She's recently installed Kubuntu on another
>> desktop computer. She wants to use the Kubuntu machine all the
>> time, but still needs the Windows box on a regular basis. She want
>> to
>>
>> - connect the Kubuntu box to one LAN port of a D-Link DI-704P router
>> - connect the 98 box to another LAN port of the same router
>> - use vnc from the Kubuntu box in order to use her 98 box
>>
>> Peculiarities
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> - Annie doesn't have ADSL access
>> - she connects to the web strictly using ppp
>> - the WAN port on the D-Link router is therefore empty
>>
>> Steps we've taken to set this up
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> 1. Manually reset the router to its defaults.
>> - appears to have worked
>>
>> 2. Plugged the Kubuntu box and the 98 box into two of the router's
>> LAN ports.
>> - both connections are solid
>>
>> 3. Fired up the 98 box.
>> - no problem
>>
>> 4. Used wifcfg (or whatever that 98 DOS command is--I've never
>> used Windows before) to show network
>> status.
>> - output shows that the network card in the 98 box (an
>> NE<something>) is up:
>> o IPv4 address 192.168.0.126
>> o Bcast: 192.168.0.255
>> o Mask: 255.255.255.0
>> o Gateway: 192.168.0.1
>>
>> 6. Contacted the router by going to 192.168.0.1 in IE.
>> - contact was successful; the router page opened
>>
>> 6. Fired up the Kubuntu box.
>> - /etc/init.d/networking chokes on DHCPREQUEST and brings ups
>> eth0 without an address, consequently there's no way to
>> contact the router or the 98 box
>
> Do you have two network interfaces on this box, and if so, is the cable
> in the correct ethernet socket?

"Annie" assures me the only other "networking" card of any sort in
the box is her modem.

>> Summary of problem
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> Annie's Kubuntu box isn't able to contact the D-Link router and
>> subsequently obtain an IP address via DHCP.
>>
>> Troubleshooting the Kubuntu box
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> 1. Is dhcp-client installed?
>> - yes
>>
>> 2. Does /etc/network/interfaces file contain these lines?
>>
>> # The loopback network interface
>> auto lo
>> iface lo inet loopback
>>
>> # The primary network interface
>> auto eth0
>> iface eth0 inet dhcp
>>
>> - yes
>>
>> 3. Does /etc/resolv.conf contain Annie's nameservers (not sure this
>> is important in this instance).
>> - yes
>>
>> 4. How is /etc/hosts is set up?
>>
>> 127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost ubuntu
>>
>> - looks fine to me
>
> This only relates to name resolution.
>
>> 5. Is the ethernet card properly installed and functioning?
>> - brought up the card manually with the address, 192.168.0.3
>> - pinged 192.168.0.3
>> - ping was successful, ergo card is fine (?)
>
> That rules out my previous suggestion then.
>
>> Annie tells me the network card is new (bought last week) and that,
>> to the best of her knowledge, she's not running a firewall. I
>> forgot to check that; does anyone know if Kubuntu sets up some sort
>> of minimal firewall by default?
>
> No idea. If it does, then it's weird that the default firewall would
> prevent outgoing dhcp requests.
>
>> Anyway, that's the summary of where we are. A Windows 98 box can
>> connect to the D-Link router, and a Kubuntu box can't. On the
>> basis of the information I've provided, can anyone suggest reasons
>> why the Kubuntu box is unable to reach the router? Have I stupidly
>> overlooked something?
>
> I don't think you overlooked anything, but it might be worth issuing:
>
> dhclient eth0
>
> from the command line and see where that gets you. It might be that the
> card has to 'settle' post boot before it talks to the network.

OK. We'll give this a try. Will post as soon as I get results.
Thanks so far.

--
Peter Schaffter

> Summary of problem
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Annie's Kubuntu box isn't able to contact the D-Link router and
> subsequently obtain an IP address via DHCP.
>
> Troubleshooting the Kubuntu box
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> 5. Is the ethernet card properly installed and functioning?
> - brought up the card manually with the address, 192.168.0.3
> - pinged 192.168.0.3
> - ping was successful, ergo card is fine (?)

This doesn't prove anything, unfortunately. The IP stack is smart
enough to realize that the ping doesn't have to go to the NIC to get
where it is supposed to go. You could probably ping 192.168.0.3
successfully even if the cable wasn't there. Try pinging 192.168.0.1.
Oh, and use "ping -n" so that nothing gets stuck waiting for DNS.

> Anyway, that's the summary of where we are. A Windows 98 box can
> connect to the D-Link router, and a Kubuntu box can't. On the
> basis of the information I've provided, can anyone suggest reasons
> why the Kubuntu box is unable to reach the router? Have I stupidly
> overlooked something?

Possibly :-) If I had a dime for every time I'd missed something stupid...

On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:10:39 -0400, Peter Schaffter wrote:

(dhcp fail, Kubuntu box can ping it's own interface)

> On the basis of the information I've provided, can anyone suggest reasons
> why the Kubuntu box is unable to reach the router?

Cable fault - did you try swapping cables? Make sure the cable is *not* a
crossover cable (unless the nic supports auto MDI/MDIX).



--


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Snowbat wrote:

> On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:10:39 -0400, Peter Schaffter wrote:
>
> (dhcp fail, Kubuntu box can ping it's own interface)
>
>> On the basis of the information I've provided, can anyone suggest reasons
>> why the Kubuntu box is unable to reach the router?
>
> Cable fault - did you try swapping cables? Make sure the cable is *not* a
> crossover cable (unless the nic supports auto MDI/MDIX).

Sad to say, yes, we did swap the cables, with no change. The 98
box came up; the Kubuntu exhibited the same behaviour as before.

The cables are both functional--tested elsewhere--and neither is
the cable a crossover.

Still stumped.

--
Peter Schaffter

On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 23:20:16 -0400
Allen McIntosh <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> > 5. Is the ethernet card properly installed and functioning?
> > - brought up the card manually with the address, 192.168.0.3
> > - pinged 192.168.0.3
> > - ping was successful, ergo card is fine (?)
>
> This doesn't prove anything, unfortunately. The IP stack is smart
> enough to realize that the ping doesn't have to go to the NIC to get
> where it is supposed to go. You could probably ping 192.168.0.3
> successfully even if the cable wasn't there. Try pinging 192.168.0.1.
>
> Oh, and use "ping -n" so that nothing gets stuck waiting for DNS.

Heh I missed that! I call myself a networker and idle on
c.o.l.networking heh, b'jesus.

--
Regards, Ed :: http://www.bsdwarez.net
proud linux hacker
Vin Diesel killed Tupac.

ed wrote:

> On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 23:20:16 -0400
> Allen McIntosh <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> > 5. Is the ethernet card properly installed and functioning?
>> > - brought up the card manually with the address, 192.168.0.3
>> > - pinged 192.168.0.3
>> > - ping was successful, ergo card is fine (?)
>>
>> This doesn't prove anything, unfortunately. The IP stack is smart
>> enough to realize that the ping doesn't have to go to the NIC to get
>> where it is supposed to go. You could probably ping 192.168.0.3
>> successfully even if the cable wasn't there. Try pinging 192.168.0.1.

Ah--thanks for pointing that out. Although pinging 192.168.0.1
isn't possible: that's the gateway address of the router, which I'm
unable to connect to. Sort of a Catch-22, but not quite. Anyway,
still working on it. Latest development is that "Annie", my friend
with the problem, thought to try booting her Kubuntu box into
Windows (98, I presume) to see if 98 on the Kubuntu box could
contact the router.

It couldn't. Which means the problem isn't related to her Kubuntu
installation, but lies somewhere else. Her card is new; I suppose
it could be defective. The cables are new; they, too, could be
defective. But I doubt both.

Is it possible this is some sort of BIOS issue? I wish I were at
Annie's machine to check this out myself, but, since I'm not, a
quick yes-or-no answer to the above question will really help.

--
Peter Schaffter

> Ah--thanks for pointing that out. Although pinging 192.168.0.1
> isn't possible: that's the gateway address of the router, which I'm
> unable to connect to. Sort of a Catch-22, but not quite. Anyway,
> still working on it.

IIRC you said that DHCP didn't work. That isn't the same as having no
connectivity at all. Since 192.168.0.1 is the router's IP address, and
since the Kubuntu box is directly connected to the router, you should be
able to ping it if you give the Kubuntu box a static IP address.

> Latest development is that "Annie", my friend
> with the problem, thought to try booting her Kubuntu box into
> Windows (98, I presume) to see if 98 on the Kubuntu box could
> contact the router.
>
> It couldn't. Which means the problem isn't related to her Kubuntu
> installation, but lies somewhere else. Her card is new; I suppose
> it could be defective. The cables are new; they, too, could be
> defective. But I doubt both.
>
> Is it possible this is some sort of BIOS issue? I wish I were at
> Annie's machine to check this out myself, but, since I'm not, a
> quick yes-or-no answer to the above question will really help.

So maybe the problem is hardware. In your shoes I would try to verify
every bit of hardware involved. If the '98 box works when connected via
cable X to port Y on the router, then use cable X to connect the Kubuntu
box to port Y.

Does the Kubuntu NIC show up on lspci? If so, does the kernel see it at
boot-up? Does it show up in the output of "ifconfig -a"? Based on your
previous posting I think the answers to these are all "yes", but I
figured I'd check. If there are two NIC's involved, are you really
really :-) sure you have the right one?

Can mii-diag or ethtool communicate with the card? If so, what do they
have to say?